Improvement in poetaele houses



D. FITZGERALD.

PORTABLE HOUSE.

No.62.831. I .Patented Ma,r.1Z1 867.

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DANIEL FITZGERALQDF NEW YORK, N. Y., AS SIGNOR TO HIMSELF AND R. ONDERDONK, OF SAME PLACE.

Letters Patent No. 62,831, dated March 12, 1867.

IMPROVEMENT PORTABLE HOUSES.

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TO ALL WHOM IT MAY, CONCERN:

Be itknown that I, DANIEL FITZGERALD, of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in the Construction of Portable Houses; and I hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description. v 1

To enable others to'makc and use my invention, I proceed to dcsc'ribeit in detail, reference being had to the drawings hereunto annexed and making part of this specification.

Figure 1, perspective of the house. I

Figure 5!, section.

Figure 3, side in elevation, the canvas or tent omitted.

Figure 4, plan.

The samelotters refer to vthe'same things in all the designs. I A, the boarding of the side. of the house; 13, the canvas tent outside; 0,. chamber floor; D, the boarding front and rear; E, outer frame for canvas to be stretched over; F, cap. I

The design of this portable house is to be so compact that the whole may bepacked and transported in small bulk, and put up and completed as a residence in a few hours by two or three men. To this end its outer covering (or' the covering of its cxtensions)'is made of canvas. The front and rear being put up (on floor timbers) first, andthe cap being put on, all the thin stuff for the side of the house is slipped underthe cap and I nailed on. The floor timbers run across from side to side and sustained by the boarding, and the floor is laid in theplaco it is made to fit. The extensions or wings are formed by four thin boards, which are thrust under the cap F at top, and nailed in place. When so rnuchis'd'one, the canvas o'r tent is put on by bringing it over the whole house and down the sides. Theft-antv and rear of the wings are closed with canvas, which is readily sepured in place without nailing. The front and rear pieces, made entire, have a strip each side, making the corner, and through this is-cut a hole sufi'icient and proper to receive the flooring joist at the second floor.

Thd'cap F is formed of a single piece of timber provided with step grooves, seen in Figure 5. The upper cndsof the'boards'A are first placed in the grooves a a, and being bent over the framework, are secured at their lower ends and at intermediate points where necessary. I The boards which cover or break the joints of the boards A have their upper ends placed in the grooves c e, and, being bentover the said boards A, are secured down in any suitable manner. The boards of the outer roof have their upper ends secured in the grooves d d, When it is desirable to. break the joints of the boards of the outer roof, still another groove is formed in the cap F for receiving the ends of the boards which are used for that purpose. It will be seen that the cap F, formed as represented, is a very essential portion of this house. Its grooves make a very simple and c flicient fastening for the upper ends of the boards, while they prevent the warping ofsaid boards by holding their edges down to a straight-line. When the upper ends ofthe boards are confined in the grooves,the edges of said boards can turn neither up nor down, but are kept securely in their originnlshape. The formation of this cap greatly facilitates the put-ting together of this house, as it is not-necessary for a'ur...n to be stationed on the top of the building for the purpose of adjusting and securing the upper ends of the boards, for the workman upon the ground can thrust the upper end of the board into the groove, bend-its lower end into PTOPBIPOSllZlOH, and there secure it. A roof constructed of boards bent inthis manner is muchless .liable to leak than one which is made in any of the now known'andusual-ways. With this arrangement it will readily be perceived that I entirely dispense with the use of rafters or sheeting. Boards when bent in this manner, irrespective of the fastening of their upper or lower ends, are less liable to warp than those which are eirposed to the weather without bending.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

The cap F, provided with grooves as represented, when used in combination with the boards A A, the upper ends of which are held by said cap, and which are bent to form the roof and sides of the house; said board being prevented from warping substantially as herein specified.

DANIEL FITZGERALD.

Witnesses 7 Owen G: Wnxnsx, J D. Srun'rsvisnr. 

